Best moose call ?

[Junebugg]

What's the best moose call out there? Buck Expert,critr' call bull grunt/cow grunt.I know that a lot of people just use their voice and a megaphone but I can't pull that off.
Any suggestions from experienced moose callers would be helpful.There must be a few predator/moose callers on this board.Thanks for any input,Junebugg...

 

[R Buker]

Redfrog????

 

[Redfrog]

Alrighty then! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I like to use a birch bark call. There are always some on ebay. and some of the sporting stores sell them as well. about $25 Can. that's about 11 cents U.S. after the exchange. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Go to www.gofoxpro.com check out their sound library. They have some good moose sounds. Actually you could just buy a FOXPRO and include some moose sounds in your selection. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif Make sure it is legal for moose in your area.

It's difficult to describe the sounds in print. You pretty much have to hear them. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif

As far as the commercial calls go, I have no experience with them. I have used several things as "megaphones" From milk jugs, to 2 liter soda bottles, etc. cut the bottom out and practice. I doubt that the commercial calls work better.
It isn't the Boston Symphony, it's a grunt or moan in or near a swamp.

Some guys use a large coffee can. Punch a hole in the bottom with a nail, feed a long bootlace through the hole. Knot on each end. soak the lace and draw it slowly through the hole. it takes a bit of practice, but it will give you the grunts and moans you need. Fill it with water and slowly pour the water out into the lake, so it sounds like a cow urinating. Seems to work well once you get some practice. The lace must fit tightly in the hole.

Like anything else you call, there has to be one there to respond. Some times it takes a few minutes, sometimes and hour. I loose interest after calling for an hour. Probably less than that, in an area that I'm not sure has a moose in it. I like to set up where I can see a long ways. I should get a response, vocal or visual, if one is there. He may be a mile away on the other side of a swamp. And he may not come all the way to me. So I either get closer or try in the evening, or the next morning.

Try morning and evening, in the rut,usually from early Sept. till the third week or so in October. I've called them in later than that, but usually smaller bulls that have been driven off and are without a cow. It sucks to be them , cause when they come to the call , they still ain't gettin' none. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif

Calling moose is really no different than calling anything else. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif You must present the illusion that he is gonna get something to eat or breed. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif Then you kill him. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif
Sounds like a model for marriage. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[John/Alaska]

I tried several different commercial calls over the years. Most of them are a waste of money. I use my own voice most of the time with a large cut to fit funnel to get volume. Seems to work best. I use both bull & cow sounds but not at the same time usually. The cow sound is very easy to make. The bull takes a bit of practice making that gaaa lunk! sound. The can idea mentioned by redfrog for the bull sound is the best way if not by your voice. But if you feel you need a commercial call for the cow sound just grab one of your predator hand calls. I have many times used my searcy jack rabbit call to mimick a cow moose as I carry it everywhere and have learned to make a variety of sounds with it. Just don't throw a lot of air through it so it squallers. Same with other predator calls that I have. Very easy to imitate that cow sound.

Also if using the bull sound don't hesitate to thrash the brush or chop some wood. If using the lonesome cow sound and around water be sure and dump some water to mimick a cow urinatating. And most of all be patient and don't over call. A bull can take a long time coming in. Last year I got impatient after cow calling at my camp and started doing some work.I'm building a cabin there. About an 1 1/2 after calling I hear this grunt and 20 feet away is this nice bull just realizing I'm not what he wanted. My blasted rifle was out of reach and he was history!

Another time I was out but a bit late in the morning leaving home and not in the moose hunt mood at the moment so I went to one of my favorite calling spots for predators as it was on the way to where I had planned to hunt. Sat down, pulled out that jack call and made the most lonesome cow I need you now cow sound. Within minutes a bull call fired back. Well you see about 2 miles away on this lake I knew there was a hunting camp. They started making the bull sound using a can. After 1/2 hour of back & forth calling with them getting real excited, well they really didn't know what they were doing, I kept replying. Anyways I got tired of the game and now in the hunting mood and wanting to get to the area I planned to hunt I kicked the volume up and let out the loudest & badest jack sound. Total silence on the other end after that as they realized they were dinking with a hugh rabbit! or a griz! Oh careful as that cow sound can bring in a griz! Had that happen unplanned and it was not fun.

Hey last year just after moose closed I took my then 7 year old grandson out to one of my areas. Well we were tracking a long gone I hoped bear and he was learning to call moose using the bull challenge sound with his voice that I had just showed him as were were walking reading track & sniffing the trees. Yep you guessed it after a while a young bull showed up! I had to explain to Trayl that the season was closed and that is why I didn't shoot it!

So if he can mimick a bulls challenge sound you can too. Just have to practice a bunch is all. Calling is fun!

 

[grinr]

Best moose call?Hmmm,kinda loaded question.Sort of like "what's the BEST caliber for yotes?"
Redfrog already described them for the most part.The juice can call can be a little tricky or inconsistant I've found,and depends on a water source for the lace.Megaphones can be made of near anything.(rolled up tarpaper,construction pylon,fiberglass to name a few).Like RF,I prefer the birchbark horn,if only out of tradition?(they do sound nice though).The only commercial call I've tried(with success I should add)is the Buck Expert.It's an open reed call with megaphone.It takes a fair bit of practice to master but can produce some great sounds.
Now here is a few that you won't find in any catalog.
----Hip waders-used as a coaxer to "slosh around" in knee deep water at ponds edge in a slow deliberate manner.Disadvantage is being able to slosh around pond edge without exposing one's self.
----Half inch dry branches-stepped on or cracked over knee as a coaxer to close the deal,just don't overdo it.
----Old dry Canoe paddle-This one should probly only be used if you only want a big bull as it mite intimidate lesser animals,but swung like a baseball bat and raked past 1-2" saplings,it does an awesome job of imitating a rutting bull taking out his sexual frustrations on a tree.Gauranteed to get you some strange looks from other hunters as you hike over a hardwood ridge with a paddle in tow,but they will be laughing out the other side of their face when you call a big bull(or hunter)from from across the valley and over the next ridge.
p.s. I am serious about the paddle.If you don't beleive it,get one of yer buddies to take a paddle a few hundred yards into the woods and go at er.If You have ever seen or heard a bull raking trees,You'll see what I mean.

good luck